Tag Archives: lara’s passage

Dumplings, unite!

It all started with a wooden table in an alley: square, unadorned, pressed up against a cement wall. It wobbled a bit on the uneven cobbles.

Somewhere nearby, a game of mahjong- the soft clinking of tiles echoed faintly on the evening air. Wisps of a forgotten dream, sounds from another time. I imagined the room where they played. Dark, smoky. Fingers twisted with age shuffling, shuffling, shuffling. The worn bone and bamboo whispers as it slides between mysterious symbolism and a poetry of deeper meaning. Through all that is lost and everything that is gained, what will be revealed? Plum blossom, peacock, white tiger, sword. Continue reading →

Not Your Eomma’s Kalguksu: an ode to eating on the side streets

Tunxi, China

It turns out that I am a back alley kind of girl. This was something that I didn’t know about myself until we moved to Korea and began to travel through Southeast Asia.

Give me food stalls, stacks of dumplings steaming on street corners, wobbly stools, plastic chairs pressed up against cement walls, narrow passages crammed with tables. Let me sit elbow to elbow on a wooden bench in a bustling market noisy with sizzling, slurping, hissing, lip-smacking goodness. Paper sacks and plastic bags. Crunchy, greasy, savoury, sweet, bean paste, sesame, skewers, buns, pancakes and pockets. I am happiest at Continue reading →

D House Boutique Resort

D House Boutique Resort is a unique little place tucked away on a quiet pedestrian only street in an old section of Hangzhou. It is a hidden gem of a spot: perfectly located just steps away from Qinghefang Ancient Street, old neighbourhood alleys, picturesque walks along the canal, a drum tower, and Zhongshan Road- which shuts down to traffic in the evenings to make way for an assortment of food stalls and stands selling baubles. If that weren’t enough, it is a pleasant 30 minute walk to the West Lake area and Leifang Pagoda. All of the best parts of Hangzhou at your fingertips. Continue reading →

Travel Tip: How to get to Tunxi/ Huangshan from Hangzhou

Since the new high speed train line opened up in July 2015, it is now easier- and faster- than ever to get from Shanghai to Tunxi, and the foothills of the Yellow Mountains. You can also choose to break up the trip with a stop in Hangzhou (like we did). It is a nice city for a day or two of strolling and eating, and breaks the transit time into two manageable legs (approximately 3 hours from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and just under 4 hours from Hangzhou to Huangshan.)

With a new train line comes new stations and new bits of information. Currently, there isn’t much out there in the way of travel tips regarding this route, and since we learned a couple of things the hard way, I wanted to pass on some useful information. Continue reading →

Qinghefang Ancient Street: A Feast for the Senses

Qinghefang Ancient Street- Hangzhou, China

just before the crowds…

We emerged from the narrow street where our little guest house sat nestled into a row of white washed buildings. It was quiet, and the essence of another era lingered between the walls and the cobbles. Then, as we rounded the corner and stood at the opening of Qinghefang Ancient Street we saw it: a throng of humans stretching as far as the eye could see. I am not going to lie- Continue reading →

West Lake Walkabout

We woke on our first morning in Hangzhou to the sound of birds chirping in the courtyard. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and listened intently to their song, not yet wanting to break the spell, and tried to imagine what words the ancient Chinese poets would use to describe the moment. Is it possible that there was a proverb somewhere in their early morning music?
Continue reading →

Hangzhou, we arrive.

little guardians of Quinghefang Ancient Street…

The bus hurdled westward until Shanghai was just a collection of faded grey shapes. I watched through the window as the suburbs rolled by: groups of colourful housing complexes creeping their way across green. Power lines, train tracks, industry. Even in the mystical land of the red dragon Continue reading →

Travel Tip: How to get to Hangzhou, China

Shanghai, China: long distance shuttle bus station

waiting for the long distance bus…

From Shanghai, you have a couple easy options for getting to Hangzhou. It serves as a nice hub for other points westward (Tunxi, Huangshan, etc…) and is definitely worth the stop for a day or two of exploring and eating. Continue reading →

Diving in Khao Lak

A longtail dive boat, on the way to the dive site.

We had planned our trip to Thailand to end with a few days of fun in the sun and and some well needed time under the ocean. The scuba diving hot spots in Thailand are too numerous to count, spanning both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, and are home to some of the world’s most famous dive destinations. Continue reading →

The Magic of Malapascua (part 2)

As we surveyed the rubble through the barbed-wire fence, the whole while nursing our warm beers, Josephine recounted the story of how her house was lost to a massive storm. Continue reading →

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